The new Egyptian government apparently sees solar energy as being a key part of the country’s future, based on recent comments made by its Local and Administrative Development Minister Adel Labib. At the recent inauguration of a conference organized by Alexandria’s Chamber of Commerce, Labib announced that the Egyptian government will be investing around/up to $1 billion into a giant solar energy project(s?) in the coming years. Unfortunately there aren’t many more details out there right now about this “$1 billion project(s?)” — given that the limited information available was provided by Egypt’s State Information Service, it’s something of an open question when further information will become available. Among Labib’s other comments was the remark that the country possesses substantial mineral resources that have, until now, remained undeveloped — and that the country has a great need for the establishment of greater job opportunities for the country’s youth. It’s currently unknown to what degree these other comments will pertain to solar energy development. As it stands currently, Egypt is aiming to receive roughly 20% of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2020. A goal which has been helped in recent years by the development of large projects. In somewhat related news, researchers from Ain Shams University in Egypt recently released their findings on an entirely different way of harnessing the sun’s energy for human benefit — redirecting sunlight from rooftops to the dark urban alleyways below via the use of specialized corrugated, translucent panels.